Who is Cassandra Nova in Marvel? Emma Corrin’s ‘Deadpool 3’ rumored villain, explained

Ever since being announced as part of the cast in February 2023, Emma Corrin‘s mystery role in Deadpool 3 has been the subject of intense scrutiny from Marvel fans eager to know more.

While Marvel is still keeping its cards close to its chest with this one, more intel on what Reynolds, director Shawn Levy, and co. have planned for the movie continues to emerge. Like, for instance, Corrin’s character is now widely believed to be none other than Cassandra Nova, a name that might mean nothing to fans of Fox’s X-Men film series but comes with a lot of weight for comic book readers.

Just know that, if this is accurate, Deadpool hasn’t met anyone as dark and as dangerous as Corrin’s cruel and vastly powerful villain before.

Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova could be Deadpool’s deadliest enemy yet Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for BFI As introduced during Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s mind-bending New X-Men run in 2001, Cassandra Nova can essentially be summed up as Professor X’s evil twin sister, but the truth is a lot more complicated and twisted than that.

Cassandra is what’s known as a mummudrai, a psychic parasite that exists without a physical form on the astral plane. Due to Charles Xavier’s incredible psychic powers, she was conceived into existence alongside him and fashioned herself a body out of his DNA while in the womb. When she was strong enough, Cassandra attempted to strangle her “brother” with his own umbilical cord, but the fetal Professor X hit her with a psychic blast, causing their mother to have a miscarriage, with Cassandra stillborn.

Image via Disney Plus But Cassandra’s consciousness survived, and years later she rebuilt herself an adult body and set about destroying everything Charles held dear, including his beloved X-Men and the world’s mutant population at large. Due to her unkillable nature, Cassandra has returned time and time again to make Xavier’s life a misery, teaming up with the likes of the Shi’ar Empire, the Marauders, and the Hellfire Club in order to put her (typically genocidal) plans into action.

In the comics, Cassandra is usually portrayed as an elderly, bald woman, so if Corrin is playing the character then they will likely be a strikingly different take on the villain. If the rumors are correct, we could speculate that Cassandra has been aged down in order to make her more of a physical threat to both Deadpool and Wolverine. Or perhaps she’s been reimagined as Charles’ evil daughter instead? Do I smell a Legion crossover?

The possibilities are endless, but if Cassandra Nova is coming to the MCU, then the X-Men will want to watch out. Deadpool 3 is scheduled to release in theaters on May 3, 2024.